All language subtitles for Nigellissima.S01E02.720p.iP.WEB-DL.AAC.H.264-BCH

I suppose I regard Italy

as my gastronomic
and, dare I say it,

and I probably shouldn't
but I'm going to anyway,

my spiritual home.

It's not that I'm trying
to pretend to be Italian

but more that I want to evoke
the spirit of Italy

just on my own doorstep.

So this is really all about
my kind of Italian cooking

but just using ingredients
a little closer to home.

In Italy food is life.

It's family, it's tradition,
it's passion.

Utter rapture.

It's style, it's confidence

and I love that.

Out of this world.

I'm taking the bold flavours
of Italy

and giving them
my own express approach.

One taste and it's kapow!

Vorrei una coppa con tre gusti.

'When I first came to Italy
really over half a lifetime ago,'

I was just blown away by the way
everything tasted.

And the first time
I went into a gelateria

it was like suddenly having flavour
in Technicolor

cos I'd been brought up in a world
where you had ice cream

in chocolate, vanilla, strawberry.

Now, Italian ice cream
is the best in the world

and I want to do honour to it
but I certainly won't compete.

So what I've done is come up
with a simplified version

but it still has the depth
of flavour and complexity

of proper Italian ice cream.

There is a reason
that most people buy ice cream.

The thing is, it can be incredibly
complicated to make.

One, most ice cream needs a custard
as its base.

And the second thing is, you need
an expensive, fancy machine.

But my no-churn, one-step coffee
ice cream is really so simple,

I mean, it's almost embarrassing.

You start off with this very
elegant ingredient,

some condensed milk.

A lot of people will think
this is not very Italian.

But actually latte condensato
is quite an Italian ingredient.

Of course,
no-one would believe that here.

But it's true.

So here I am feeling very Italian.

And then on top of that,
300ml of double cream.

Only two more ingredients.
It's a very simple recipe.

I want two tablespoons
of instant espresso powder.

And that's what it is.
It's not ground espresso coffee.

And it's not instant coffee.

You can find it at the supermarket
easily.

Smells very strong
but I want it strong.

And that's why, as well, my final
ingredient is some espresso liqueur.

The thing about alcohol is
it really helps with ice cream

because alcohol
will never freeze hard.

So the consistency of your
ice cream will always be soft.

I promised you one step
and one step it is.

Turn it on and whisk.

And all I need to do now is wait

till that rather
magnificently manila-toned cream

has whipped to soft but thick peaks.

Perfect. Now my tubs...

You can use any
but I rather like acting

as if I've got
my own ice-cream factory.

To write on, just in case
I forget what I'm doing,

which happens quite a bit
these days.

That's coffee ice cream.

I love the colour of this
as well as the taste.

Mmm.

Mmm! It is delicious.

Very sweet at this stage.

And that's for a reason.

When you freeze any food,
it numbs the flavour a bit.

So you eat ice cream so cold

you want the flavours to be slightly
more emphatic at this stage.

And emphatic
they most certainly are.

This is the hardest part for me,

actually getting something
from one container into another.

And the great thing about this ice
cream is that it keeps that texture

and all that airiness
once it's frozen, too.

For me in a minute.
But for now...these tubs...

..in the freezer...

FREEZER BEEPS

..which is serenading me.

FREEZER BEEPS

I would so much rather
have a walk-in larder

than a walk-in wardrobe.

And the only thing that makes me
as happy as being in Italy

is being surrounded by Italian food.

There's not enough time in this life

for me to go through all my beloved
ingredients one by one.

But I have got some
that are hot favourites -

chief among these has to be Marsala.

Can't live without it.

It's fortified wine from Sicily

and just adds instant depth and sort
of a husky resonance to anything

that you're cooking.

Now, I love fire as well.
So that means chillies

I've got dried chilli flakes,

I've got whole
dried hot red chillies,

teeny little sweet ones

and I've got chilli oil as well.

Right now I want more
of a salty, sour vibe.

So that's capers.

What else?

Oh, well, my new passion
is for golden sultanas.

I need those. And, of course,
there has to be pasta.

And I need this for my linguine
with smoked mackerel.

Although it's incredibly simple to
make, the flavours are so complex

that it's very rewarding to eat.

And now for the sultanas,
which I want to steep a little.

Might as well use the pasta water
before I salt it.

Not much needed
because they are quite soft.

Slip in this golden linguine,

my blonde tresses.

Then they can bubble away
and I can get on with the sauce.

I want some olive oil in a pan.

Going to leave the heat low
and while the oil warms,

I shall chop my banana shallot.

They're much easier
than a regular onion...

both to peel and to chop.

I might get my mezzaluna out
just to chop this a bit finer.

Because they're much more sugary
than a regular onion,

they cook faster.

In other words, this is the speedy
solution for the lazy cook.

And that suits me.

And now for my secret ingredient.

This is Sicilian inspired.

It's based on the Italian pasta
with sardines.

Well, I've used something
from the English larder instead

which is mackerel, smoked mackerel,

because I always have this
in the fridge,

so it makes it an easy
go-to supper or lunch.

You just need to flake the mackerel

and peel away the skin.

Before I add the mackerel, I want
a splosh of Marsala. It will sizzle.

That's not a bad thing.

In goes the mackerel.

Now I'll just squeeze out
the sultanas.

Beautiful.

These sultanas with the fish
are very much part of

the Moorish legacy from Sicily.

And with that goes capers,

vinegary and sharp,

really punctuating the sweet
mellowness of the sauce so far.

The joy of using smoked mackerel is,
of course, it's already cooked,

so the minute the mackerel is warm,
your sauce is done.

But I'm happy with that.
The heat can come off.

So now I just need to see whether
I'm as happy with my pasta.

It is hot but I have asbestos hands.

Mmm.

Perfect. Not a moment too soon,
actually.

Mmm.

And now on top,

the sauce with
all those beautiful bronze colours.

I have been harbouring some
pine nuts here, toasted pine nuts.

They bring a bit of texture.

The Sicilians, when they make
their pasta with sardines,

use wild fennel,
which we don't have,

so I'm going for dill.

Going to add a bit
of red wine vinegar.

Just a splash.

Really makes all the flavours zing.

I love that breath of aniseed

so I want a final topping of dill.

Just all those beautiful fronds.

And although this was
really quick to make,

I think I shall linger
over my Anglo-Italian lunch.

Anyone who knows me knows that
formality is hardly my strong suit,

but however informal,
for me a meal has always

got to feel like a celebration.

And this is where
my Italian roast chicken comes in.

It's very easy because
everything goes into one pan.

The chicken, a tangle of vegetables

punctuated by salty black olives.

You don't really need anything
alongside

although I have to sneak
in my saffron orzotto.

And that, just think of it
as a risotto

but instead of being made with rice

is made with pearl barley, which
doesn't need stirring constantly

so is very simple to make.

For pudding, there is my coffee ice
cream which I insist everyone tries

squished into brioche buns

like sweet burgers.

Mmm!

Mmm!

I have, incidentally,
also made a chocolate cake.

Now, you don't really need
any more pudding

but since when has chocolate cake
got anything to do with need?

And especially this one, which is
so incredibly easy to make.

You start off with 50g
of the best cocoa

and 125ml of boiling water.

That's about half a cup of each.

Just whisk the two together

until you've got a thick
but smooth paste.

Measure out 150g of ground almonds.

And then add half a teaspoon
of bicarb

and a pinch of salt.

I just dibble these together
with my fingers to mix.

Now, in a large bowl
put in 200g of sugar

and add to that 150ml
of regular olive oil or, indeed,

specifically light and mild
olive oil.

It sounds quite odd to be using
olive oil in a cake

but it really works.

The cocoa is quite bitter and
the roundedness of the olive oil

really gives a mellow, rich taste
to the cake.

Add three eggs.

And then whisk ferociously.

I let this go for quite a while

until the consistency is almost
of a voluminous mayonnaise.

Now is the time on a lower speed

to whisk in the cocoa mixture

and suddenly all that yellow batter
goes rich and chocolatey and brown.

Add the bowl of dry ingredients.

And pour into
a greased and lined cake tin.

This is a very, very runny liquid.

Do not be alarmed.

It's the consistency that makes
the cake so melting later.

Cook for 40-45 minutes,

by which time the sides
will be slightly coming away

and the centre of the cake
will be set

but still very desirably squidgy
inside.

But even this woman cannot live
on cake alone.

Although I claim my Italian roast
chicken is cooked with vegetables,

strictly speaking,
these peppers are a fruit.

I use red peppers for this,
orange,

I use yellow or a mixture
of all three.

However, I will excommunicate
anyone who even thinks

of using a green pepper.

And this is not rank
colour prejudice,

this is because a green pepper
is simply an unripe pepper.

The thing about peppers
is that when they're cooked,

they go so sweet and soused,

and yet in this way they are cooked
with a chicken sitting on top

so all those savoury juices
just flow into the sweetness.

That's the Mediterranean
covered with the peppers

and now I feel
our green and pleasant land

can be represented by a leek or two.

I don't know whether
it's the heat of the oven

of the sugariness of the peppers,

but when the leeks roast

they seem to create a slightly
intense, already reduced

sweet gravy
at the bottom of the pan.

They do all your work for you,
frankly.

And now the chicken,
the crowning glory.

The chicken in question,
I think, should be untrussed,

by which I mean that the strings
that tie it up normally

have been snipped

so it can cook freely and fast.

Limone.

Always have lemon with the chicken.

Pop one half in.

Some rosemary.

I think I'm going
to arrange this this way.

And now I'm going to dot
all that brightness with black...

olives.

I prefer the dry-packed black olives

because
they're very intensely flavoured.

Also, they've been pitted,
which is easier.

And they are not in any brine
or liquid.

And because the olives
are so salty,

go steady with the salting
of the chicken.

Just a bit over, maybe a teeny bit
on the vegetables.

Some pepper.

Nice and coarse.

And olio. Normal olive oil,
not extra virgin.

Just enough to help
the vegetables roast.

This will need about an hour,
an hour and a quarter in a hot oven.

Obviously, check that
the chicken is cooked through.

Then everything will be perfect.

You see, useful to have hips!

There we go.

I'm after some carb action
in the form of my saffron orzotto.

Now, an orzotto is like a risotto,

only instead of being made
with rice, it's made with barley,

"orzo" being the Italian
for "barley".

It needs stock for that, and, yes,
I am using stock from a cube.

Now, saffron orzotto
is what I'm making

so I need my saffarano
for that glorious golden glow.

My saffron orzotto
is gratifyingly low effort.

Bit of light chopping
just a banana shallot.

If I haven't got a banana shallot
in the house

I don't bother with a full-on onion,
I just use

a few springs onions,
white part only.

Garlic oil in the pan.

Garlic oil is absolutely abhorred

by purists, but it delights me.

I let this heat just gently.

And while that warms
I can make up the stock.

Water.

One of my stock cubes.

And here comes the sun, my saffron.

I can tend to be a bit heavy-handed,
so I shall restrain myself.

I want about a quarter of a teaspoon
of these strands.

The strands are only just beginning
to seep out yellowness.

YOu stir it to help it get going.

Leave that to settle.

And I can soften the shallots.

It may seem an odd thing
to make either risotto

or, in this case, orzotto,

as a side dish

but actually I started doing it
a lot at weekends

because my children
always insist on carbs

and this is so much easier

than peeling and chopping
loads of potatoes.

Now the grains. In go the barley.

And as with the cooking
of a risotto,

all I want to do now is make sure
that the grains are slicked

in oniony oil.

If you've got any white wine open,

I mean, of course use that.

But I always keep some dry white
vermouth by the stove.

While that bubbles down,

I think I'll give a final stir
of my stock.

Look at that gorgeous golden
tornado there.

And in it goes.

In one.

So it's not like a risotto in that
you don't have to add it gradually.

You just have to wait for it
to come to a boil

and then I will turn the heat down
and clamp on a lid.

It should take about half an hour
to cook,

by which time the grains
will have absorbed

all that wine-infused
and saffron-tinted stock.

What are you calling this?
I don't know. I'll take anything.

Go on, a little bit more.

Grapefruit - in food difficult
but in drinks I rather love it.

Anyway, it's very nice, this.
I might have another one.

So let's see how the orzotto
is doing.

It's perfect.

There's something about the way

the saffron just infuses the grains
of barley

to me make it look like corn
or Sugar Puffs, really.

Need a little bit of Parmesan.

Not too little.

Just need to go and get my chicken.

Look at this burnished bird.
It is so glorious.

OK, now I'm just going
to hack it to pieces,

making a virtue out of necessity -

I can't carve
and it looks better that way.

Here goes.

Have you got a napkin?

Here we are. I feel like
I haven't eaten all week.

The rice tastes really...
It's barley.

You don't have to stir it
like you do risotto.

It's a lazy person's lunch.

Those peppers are so sweet
and delicious.

I've got my coffee ice cream.

Armed with a scoop.

And my chocolate cake,

its dark beauty just seen under
that dusting of icing sugar.

You know what Mae West said?

"Too much of a good thing
can be wonderful."

OK, I have got a treat.

That looks beautiful.

Ground almonds for the flour

and olive oil instead of butter.

Mmm.

Now this... You let me demonstrate
to you my art. OK.

I have a brioche bun.

This is how they eat ice cream
in the south of Italy.

I have my ice cream.

I'm going to squodge.

I'm going to put the lid on.

Mmm.

It's exactly an ice-cream burger.

Mmm.

Delicious.

KETTLE WHISTLES

As fridge forays go, this may not
seem like the richest of pickings.

But just you wait.
Sometimes the simplest food

makes for the best dishes.

Now...

I'm making pasta with courgettes

although I should really
say "zucchini",

this being an Italian recipe.

And I want to show you
how I always peel courgettes

because it reminds me of my mother,
cos she did it like this,

and her reasoning was,

you do stripes because if you were
to have all the skin on,

it would make the courgette
too bitter,

but if you were to take all of it
off, it would become too mushy.

The pasta water is ready.

This is the pasta I like to use
for this.

It's called casarecce.

It's kind of like...
Let me just show you.

It's kind of like a pasta twist,

so the sauce kind of goes into
the grooves -

my son's favourite pasta shape.

And now I can get ready
with the sauce, such as it is.

Now let's get the spring onions
done first.

Just a couple sliced.

In these go.

I need to dice this, too.

The smaller the cubes,
the faster it will cook,

and I want that slow-cooked taste
but quickly.

Like courgette confetti.

The Italians cook vegetables
with pasta a lot.

And when they do, they make sure
they're properly cooked.

We have such a thing
about crunchy vegetables

but sometimes you need the flavour
to be mellow,

and for that you really
do need them to be cooked soft.

I'm happy with these.

Ready for stage due.

It's a bit late
for the cocktail hour

but a splash of vermouth
nonetheless.

And some parsley. Prezzemolo.

It smells divine.

The lid on. It's a waste to let all
those flavours and juices evaporate.

I'm going to attend to my pasta.

Perfect. I'm happy with that.

And now let's see.

It's all coming together.

It may be a bit drab in tone

but the vibrancy of flavour
is extraordinary.

Some Parmesan.

There's not much there
but I don't need much.

Just enough to add a bit of goo
and a lot of flavour.

Final scattering
of what I can get of parsley.

It's time for my butter, I think.

And, unsurprisingly,
the pasta itself.

I'm using such a small pan,

I don't know if my little strainer
will fit. There we are.

Yum, yum and yet more yum.

Teeny bit more parsley.

Don't know about you
but I'm eating now.

Pork lion with some oregano.

Lemon liqueur from the Amalfi Coast.

Herb-flecked and fragrant.

They make frying feel celestial.

And...action.

Here... I can't...

SHE LAUGHS

Do you want me to do it again?

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